Trinidad Paradox
A product of Altadis, the Trinidad Paradox is yet another release from IPCPR 2012. I have very little knowledge of the Trinidad brand. Seeing them on the shelf at a local shop, I figured it was worth a try. Read on, and see how the Paradox went with fine, filtered, Florida tap water.
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas Criollo 98
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Robusto 5 x 54
Price: Around $6.50
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The first thing that caught my eye was the perfect box press. There were no flaws in the wrapper, and it had a sweet cocoa scent. The cigar was evenly packed, and it had a little give when squeezed. The draw had slight resistance, which is right where I like it. The pre-light flavor was a dark, sweet bitterness.
The burn required a few corrections, and the flaky ask held for about an inch.
Flavor:
The first third opened up with simple earthy and woody flavors. I picked up an easy cayenne pepper through the nose, and it stuck around for the duration. The smoke was thick, yet crisp and dry at the same time. A very subtle sweet spice lingered in the background.
The pepper from the first third developed into a sweet spice. The most noticeable flavors were wood and cocoa. Earthiness was pushed into the background, and the smoke feel became a little creamy. The aftertaste left a nice tingle on the tongue.
The last third had a slight increase in pepper, but it remained easy to pass through the sinus. Wood was the dominant flavor, and cocoa took a back seat. The smoke feel lost it’s creaminess, and became crisp. That aftertaste remained tingly, with a tinge of earthiness and sweetness.
Conclusion:
This was a good medium bodied cigar. It had nice flavors, but there was no wow factor at all. That’s not to say it was bad. I would probably be a little more enthusiastic if this were a $5.00 cigar. Opinion’s are like assholes, so I say give this a try, and judge for yourself.